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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23001193">Hey Kitties</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LukasV/pseuds/LukasV'>LukasV</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Kittens, Other, SUPERSOFTFLUFFY, sfw, soft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:41:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,835</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23001193</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LukasV/pseuds/LukasV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>During an errand Arthur finds two abandoned kittens, after waiting around for a mama cat with no luck he decides to bring them back to camp, but what will Dutch say?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>83</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Hey Kitties</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I had this idea last night of Arthur finding some abandoned kittens and bringing them back to camp and it was SO CUTE i just HAD to write something for it &gt;.&lt;</p>
<p>(check me out on tumblr -&gt; Lukasvdm)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Arthur stuffed the stack of notes into his satchel and pushed himself to his feet.</p>
<p>For ONCE one of Uncle’s notorious ‘tip offs’ had actually bared fruit without the price of a shootout.</p>
<p>A gold bar and some cash stowed away in the sheriffs office (or what was left of it) in an old burned out town near Flatneck station, ‘Limpany’ the old coot had called it.</p>
<p>Normally Arthur would have told Uncle where to stick his request, but it was only a short ride from camp, not to mention a stones throw from a nice looking fishing spot.</p>
<p>Turning on his heel to leave the blackened building, he paused suddenly.</p>
<p>
  <em> A sound.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> A tiny, tiny sound.</em>
</p>
<p>He instinctively placed a hand on one holster and remained still. The wind maybe? I mean hell, the place looked about ready to fall apart at any moment.</p>
<p>
  <em> No...there it was again.</em>
</p>
<p>If it were anything out to kill him he would already be dead or shooting by now.</p>
<p>He relaxed his stance and stepped back into the black skeleton of a building.</p>
<p>The noise sounded nearer now, clearer.</p>
<p>Stepping further inside, he gently paced the ash-coated floor, spurs tinkling as he went.</p>
<p>And then he saw them. In the very corner of the room, half hidden behind a barely-standing cabinet. Two tiny kittens.</p>
<p>“shit…” Arthur whispered, lowering himself to his knees to get a better look at them.</p>
<p>They were dirty and stressed, but otherwise seemed healthy.</p>
<p>One was black all over with a white patch at its chest, the other ginger.</p>
<p>The outlaw reached out gently, inching himself closer to the tiny animals.</p>
<p>“you ok fellas? s’alright, I aint gonna hurt ya...” he stopped his hand an inch or so from them, letting them get used to his scent.</p>
<p>They sniffed curiously before one gently bumped its nose into his hand. Arthur felt his heart melt a little and laughed quietly.</p>
<p>“heh- if you knew a thing about me ya wouldn’t be quite so lovin’… ya know I aint the best man”.</p>
<p>He didn't feel stupid talking to the tiny creatures before him, he had always found animals easier to communicate with than humans.</p>
<p>“so, where’s your mama?” he asked, sitting on the floor alongside them now and rubbing their tiny heads gently with a large finger.</p>
<p>The kittens continued to mew and began to clumsily make their way over to his lap.</p>
<p>He lifted each in one hand and helped them, placing them in between his crossed legs.</p>
<p>Arthur's mouth pressed into a thin line and he hummed under his breath. Hosea had told him before how animals were different to people, and would sometimes leave their young on their own and come back later. He looked around impatiently for any sign of a mama cat, but there was none.</p>
<p>“I tell ya what” Arthur looked down at the animals in his lap “how bout I sit here for a few hours with ya and see if mama comes back hm?”.</p>
<p>The kittens looked up at him with bright blue curious eyes, before finally settling down together.</p>
<p>Arthur watched the patches of sunlight on the floor and tracked them on their journey from one side of the room to the other, occasionally stroking the sleeping animals in his lap.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It must have been a few hours now, the sunlight was starting to turn orange as it breached the horizon.</p>
<p>“Welp” Arthur looked down at the kittens, tilting his head “I cant just leave ya here, come on kitties”.</p>
<p>He removed his hat, upturning it in his hand and gently lifting each kitten into it one by one. “Don’t you move now ya hear? gonna take you someplace safe”.</p>
<p>As Arthur made his way outside to his horse they sat up curiously and peeped over the leather rim, but otherwise remained put.</p>
<p>The ride back to camp was slow, almost a walking pace, his hat cradled gently in his arm.</p>
<p>He needed time to think about this.</p>
<p>No way would he be allowed to keep them around camp.</p>
<p>Hosea probably wouldn’t mind too much, but Dutch… he was hard to convince.</p>
<p>His forehead creased in thought. He needed a second opinion, someone gentle that he could trust.</p>
<p>“Mary-Beth” he said aloud, spurring his horse to a gentle trot as camp came into view in the distance.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Arthur hitched up sheepishly just outside of camp and lowered himself from his horse gently, keeping his hat close to his chest.</p>
<p>Mary-Beth sat against a tree on the edge of the clearing, book in hand as always. Slowly making his way around to her, he glanced down to check on the kittens.</p>
<p>They had fallen asleep during the ride and were tucked in close together.</p>
<p>“psst, Mary-Beth” he whispered from the treeline “hey!”.</p>
<p>The young girl’s head jolted up from the page in surprise, wheeling around to answer the voice.</p>
<p>“oh! Arthur, hello!” she smiled and closed her book, turning herself to face him “what you skulking about in the trees for? Avoiding Dutch?” she teased.</p>
<p>“heh” Arthur smiled “in a way...yes… listen, I got a problem”.</p>
<p>he shuffled closer and sunk to his knees beside her, keeping his hat hidden behind his back.</p>
<p>“promise ya wont tell anyone?” he whispered.</p>
<p>“...well I guess? Just whats going on?” she smiled, lowering her pitch to match Arthurs own.</p>
<p>The outlaw slowly brought his hat out from behind his back, placing it on the floor gently between them.</p>
<p>Mary-Beth’s face lit up “OH ARTHUR! AINT THEY JUST THE SWEETEST, WHERE DID YO-”.</p>
<p>“Shhhh!” arthur hissed, bringing a a finger to his lips and scanning the camp with wide nervous eyes.</p>
<p>Nobody seemed to have heard.</p>
<p>“I found em just now not far from here, they was all alone...I...I couldn't leave em”.</p>
<p>“did you see a mama around?” Mary-Beth asked, gently stroking the tiny kittens with her finger.</p>
<p>“Naw” Arthur sighed “I sat with em a few hours...lots of coyotes round that area, wouldn't be surprised if shed been killed”.</p>
<p>“Ohh...poor things” Mary-Beth sighed, her eyebrows knitting in concern “so… what are you gonna do with em?”.</p>
<p>Arthur sniffed and brought a hand to his chin, fingering the stubble there “that's..sorta what I need your help with”.</p>
<p>He leaned over onto his hand slightly to look around the wagons and into camp, Dutch was sat in his tent, writing something, a steady wisp of cigar smoke drifting out into the open air.</p>
<p>“I’m gonna need to tell Dutch… whad’ya think I should say?”.</p>
<p>“well gee...I dunno Arthur, you know him better than me!” Mary-Beth scoffed, still tenderly stroking the tiny animals.</p>
<p>“That’s the problem” Arthur groaned.</p>
<p>For a moment, there was silence, both of their minds working away to a solution.</p>
<p>“Tell ya what” Mary-Beth spoke up, nodding her head towards Dutch’s tent “Dutch has been in a pretty good mood today, I reckon there's no use in stringing things out, If I were you I’d go in right now and ask him outright”.</p>
<p>Arthur swallowed, playing with a blade of grass.</p>
<p>After a moment, he sighed and rose to his feet, scooping up his hat.</p>
<p>“s’pose your right...wish me luck” He turned and walked reluctantly towards the large tent in the middle of camp.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He swallowed hard, before stepping into view.</p>
<p>“Arthur! There you are!” Dutch’s head snapped up and he raised a hand in greeting, smiling up the younger man. “How did you get on? Uncle said he sent you out on an errand, I half expected to hear valentine being shot to hell by now” he chuckled.</p>
<p>Arthur finally found his voice “surprisingly...it was ok, found a decent little stash of valuables and money...and some other stuff”.</p>
<p>Arthur hoped Dutch would ignore that last bit.</p>
<p>He didn't.</p>
<p>“Other stuff?” he questioned, eyebrows raising before furrowing in frustration.</p>
<p>“O’driscolls?” he growled.</p>
<p>“No! No, nothin’ like that” Arthur quickly interjected, heat prickling up his neck “it’s just..” He gripped his upturned hat in both hands, bringing it in front of him.</p>
<p>Dutch’s face grimaced in realization and his eyes rolled back in his head.</p>
<p>Last time Arthur had done this he had found an injured rabbit he wanted to keep and hidden it in his hat for days, they only found out when the thing got out and chewed through Hosea’s shirt in his sleep.</p>
<p>“Arthur...no” Dutch groaned, leaning back on his bunk “how many times do I need to tell you-”</p>
<p>“Aw come on Dutch… I couldn’t jus’ leave em there...they was gonna die” Arthur pleaded like a child, stepping towards Dutch and holding out his hat “jus’ look at em”</p>
<p>Dutch sighed dramatically, tilting his head to look down into Arthur's hat.</p>
<p>The voices must have woken the kittens as they now sat upright and sleepy, stumbling about clumsily.</p>
<p>Arthur watched Dutch carefully. He was notoriously unpredictable and hard to read.</p>
<p>The older man reached in to the hat with a ringed hand and grabbed the kittens one by one, bringing them close and settling them onto his lap.</p>
<p>He stroked them gently, but his face was still hard with frustration. The silence was deafening, Arthur wasn't sure if this was his cue to speak again, but decided against it and bit his tongue.</p>
<p>One of kittens eyes met with Dutch’s watch-chain on his vest, tumbling onto its back and batting at the metal chain with its feet, the other quickly joined in, jumping on top of the other and biting playfully.</p>
<p>And then, something unexpected.</p>
<p>Dutch’s scowl softened, his mouth relaxing, turning up at the corners into what was almost a smile.</p>
<p>Then, a chuckle, that deep rumbling sound that reverberated through his body.</p>
<p>He lifted the two kittens, one in each hand and brought them to his face, letting them push into his nose and mustache, their tiny whiskers tickling his skin.</p>
<p>Arthur didn't say a word, his lips still parted in shock.</p>
<p>“You know-” Dutch finally spoke between giggles “you know who these two remind me of?” he set the them down again in his lap.</p>
<p>Arthur licked his now-dry lips “uhh… no idea”.</p>
<p>“You and John” he laughed, looking up at Arthur “two hopeless orphans plucked from deaths grasp yet still hellbent on causing trouble and fightin’ each-other”.</p>
<p>The kittens clambered back up his vest impatiently, holding on with their tiny claws. They reached his shoulders and playfully nuzzled into his hair, the bolder of the two attempting to climb higher onto the brim of his hat.</p>
<p>Arthur laughed a little at that before composing himself again “so...should I take em back?”.</p>
<p>Dutch sighed, defeated, smiling softly at Arthur “No...but just this once, okay?”.</p>
<p>Arthur beamed with relief “Oh..thanks Dutch!...thank you!” he nodded.</p>
<p>“No problem son” Dutch rose to his feet, the two tiny kittens still holding on to his shoulders and batting at the curls of his hair.</p>
<p>“How about we introduce our two new camp members?” </p>
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